[Westside]

RICHMOND, Ky. – Cincinnati Reds radio announcer Marty Brennaman will be the featured speaker at the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team’s 12th annual Diamond Dinner at the Keen Johnson Building on Feb. 1, 2013.

A reception will begin at 6 p.m. and The Diamond Dinner will start at 6:30 p.m. in the Keen Johnson ballroom. The dinner is open to the public. Individual dinner tickets are $50 each, while a table of eight is $350. Please contact head coach Jason Stein, at (859) 622-2128 or [email]jason.stein@eku.edu[/email], to purchase tickets or for more information.

The 2013 season will be Brennaman's 49th as a broadcaster, his 40th in Cincinnati. He joined the Reds radio team in 1974 and for 31 seasons (1974-2004) shared the 700 WLW Radio booth with Reds Hall of Fame pitcher Joe Nuxhall. Brennaman has been named Ohio Sportscaster of the Year 16 times, most recently in 2009.

“To have Marty speak at our annual Diamond Dinner is such an honor,” said Stein. “Not only is Marty known around the world for his broadcasting talent, he is a huge part of the life of many baseball fans in this region of the country. Marty’s voice has brought baseball into lives of baseball fans, including myself, for 40 years.

Brennaman received the Ford C. Frick Award on July 23, 2000, in ceremonies at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The award is presented each year by the Hall of Fame to a broadcaster "for major contributions to the game of baseball." Brennaman, Red Barber (WSAI, 1934-38) and Russ Hodges (WFBE, 1932) are the only Reds announcers ever to receive the Hall of Fame's prestigious broadcasting award.

On May 2, 2005 Brennaman was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame in Salisbury, NC. On November 5, 2005 he was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in Chicago. In 1999 he was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. In 2009 he was selected by the American Sportscasters Association as one of the Top 50 broadcasters of all time.

“Speaking for the entire EKU baseball family, we can’t wait to hear Marty speak on all of his experiences in Major League Baseball,” Stein said.

EKU finished the 2012 season with a 31-23 record and captured a league-best 16th OVC regular season championship. The Colonels finished in a first place tie with a 19-7 league record. The 2013 season begins on Feb. 15 with a three-game series at Charleston Southern.

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